Chapter 70: Connors' New Assistant

John's memo was straightforward: -Dr. Connors has invited you for an in-depth discussion in the lab. -A chip manufacturing plant on the other side of the world wants to further discuss a potential collaboration. -Captain Stacy has invited you to a small public meeting. As for where to go first, that was simple—of course, it was Dr. Connors' lab. This was a matter of life and death. Upon arriving at Empire University, the campus was even busier than before, likely due to the upcoming start of the semester. As Leo walked into the lab, he saw a well-dressed man in a suit walking out—corporate drone! They exchanged glances, but there was no interaction. Before he even entered the room, Leo heard a young voice inside. "...Professor Connors, was that someone from Oscorp? Did you turn down their offer?" The speaker was a boy who looked about the same age as Leo, wearing glasses, fitting the typical "bullied nerd" stereotype. Dr. Connors was looking over some data nearby, "Peter, you must understand that all gifts come with a price, especially gifts from powerful and influential people." Knock, knock. Even though the door was open, Leo still knocked. Hearing the knock, Professor Connors furrowed his brow, but when he saw that it was Leo, his expression immediately brightened. Connors walked briskly over to Leo: "Oh! Leo! You're here! Just as I thought! The DNA of the Lesser Antillean lizard is incredibly suitable for embedding into other reptilian DNA!" As he spoke, he led Leo over to the computer. The blackboard nearby was covered in dense calculations—unlike in the world of 2077, computer performance here still had some limitations. Some models needed manual adjustments by the researchers—especially Dr. Connors, whose computing skills weren't particularly advanced. Unlike most university PhDs and professors, Connors was a former army doctor who only pursued molecular biology after the war. His computing skills were average at best, relying on a combination of manual and computer work to complete modeling simulations. "I've run the calculations multiple times. Inserting the DNA into this species of lizard is the most efficient method, requiring the fewest codons and cuts, and has the lowest redundancy. The survival rate is ten times higher than our best previous result, with the highest projected survival rate at 96.5%! I'm still looking for ways to reduce redundancy further, but with this probability, we can start attempting to breed the transgenic lizards!" The numbers indeed looked perfect. The problem was, Leo could understand the algorithms, but he didn't know how to obtain the necessary materials. Mathematically, it was sound—but now the pressure was on him. He couldn't exactly conjure up lizards with tech points, could he? Those creatures weigh about 3.2 kilograms—how was he supposed to gather enough points for that? Not to mention the issue of transporting live specimens. So Leo straightened up and put on a warm smile, "Congratulations, Doctor. Our research has made significant progress—by the way, who's this?" Leo glanced at the boy beside them, though he had already formed a pretty good guess. Connors hesitated for a moment before realizing he had been too excited. "Oh, I'm sorry, I got a bit carried away seeing you. This is Peter Parker, my new assistant. He'll be starting at Empire University next year—Peter, this is Leo Lee, my research partner." "Hello, Peter. Please, call me Leo." "Nice to meet you, Leo. Dr. Connors has been eager to share these results with you." They shook hands, and Peter seemed friendly, though a bit shy. After shaking hands, Leo asked, "Was that someone from Oscorp earlier?" "Yes." Connors nodded, "They're still trying to persuade me to accept their funding, but I turned them down. Speaking of which, our next phase of experiments will require a lot of money. I'm not sure why they're increasing their attempts—they've already sponsored another research team at a different university." Peter mumbled from the side, "But Professor, we could just accept Oscorp's sponsorship..." "Peter," Dr. Connors called his name with a hint of resignation, "It's complicated. Could you go handle today's data, please?" "Yes, Doctor." With Peter out of the room, Connors continued, "Now, let's discuss the funding for the next phase of the experiment—the lab has a small biosafety facility, BSL-2 level, sufficient for gene editing. The problem is, it hasn't been used in a while and needs some maintenance—inspections, renovations, equipment replacement... I've listed the project items on a sheet, excluding the lizards. We're looking at a cost of around $200,000 to $350,000." Seeing the bill, Leo felt a headache coming on. Honestly, it was quite reasonable; the biggest expense, the lab space, had already been secured by Dr. Connors. The more frustrating part was when Connors added, "Actually... the TALEN editing technique might not meet our needs. Oscorp hinted that they're using a new technology. So, if we proceed with the experiments, we may need to find a new gene-editing method. But that would be a bottomless pit of expenses." "I'll see what I can do about that. Let's start with the lab renovations—how long will it take?" "I'm not entirely sure, but it shouldn't take more than a month," Connors paused, "I'll ask the crew to expedite it." On one hand, there's the search for better gene-editing methods, and on the other, the lab setup. But how much time does Leo have left? Hard to say. In the Marvel world, his most recent medical report didn't account for all the flashy implants. It generally estimated that he might have 4 to 6 months left. "That would be ideal, but Doctor, I have something else—take a look at this computer's performance. Do you think it will help?" Leo had brought along some useful items on this trip, one of which was meant to address the issue of outdated computer performance. High-performance computers were expensive, but Leo could design the chips himself—or even handcraft them. This new architecture chip from 2077, built with 28-nanometer technology, had energy efficiency, computational power, and frequencies far superior to those of its contemporaries—considering that the most advanced chip in 2011 was only 32-nanometers and hadn't even been released yet. Of course, the actual manufacturing capabilities here might exceed 28 nanometers, but it's a process that needs to be gradual. "Of course, a better computer would be helpful, but does such a machine exist on the market?" "It will soon," Leo said, scratching his left hand, "Professor, do you have any immunosuppressants or anti-inflammatory meds here?" Connors hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Leo's body temperature was high— He should be taking three of the immunosuppressants Old Vic prescribed every day, or he would end up like this. The inflammatory response caused his body to overheat, his skin to itch, his breathing to quicken, and even caused mild swelling. The good news was that immunosuppressants existed in 2011, though they weren't as potent as those in the Cyberpunk world. At worst, he'd just have to take more. Seeing Leo swallow the pills like candy left Connors dumbfounded— "Leo, don't do anything drastic!!" "I'm not," Leo downed a glass of water, feeling a bit better, maybe just psychosomatically. "You're..." "You know how it is, health issues—serious health issues require a lot of meds." Leo acted like it was no big deal and didn't plan on explaining much more. No need for Connors to know too much about Cyberpunk matters. As he spoke, he also injected himself with an anti-inflammatory shot. Connors gulped. He had previously thought his inclination towards human experimentation was abnormal and unhealthy, and Leo had talked him out of it. But now, it seemed... this kid might actually be an expert in the field. The scene also left Peter stunned—Is this guy even human? "Alright, I've got to go. Professor, here's to our success." "Here's to our success, and take it easy on your way out—did you come alone?" "Yes, I came alone," Leo said as he stood up, noticing Peter staring at his phone with a dazed expression. The kid was goofing off on his phone in the lab. "Peter—what are you watching?" Peter snapped back to reality and hastily covered his phone on the desk, sheepishly scratching his head. "Uh, you know, online videos." But Leo caught a glimpse of the video's title—it read "Spider-Man." The kid's a bit full of himself. Leo gave the bespectacled boy a knowing look—though he seemed frail, even Leo's cybernetic eye couldn't detect whether his muscle mass was much higher than average. Could it be that the movies didn't make it clear, and Spider-Man really was hiding his superpowers?